Free A Deadly Encounter (A Seagrove Cozy Mystery Book 3) by Leona Fox Page A

But she gritted her teeth and in less than five minutes had his face clean enough.
     
    “Get your makeup kit,” she said. “It’s time for you to make him beautiful again.”
     
    The mortician worked with remarkable speed, and it wasn’t long before Victor had a natural-looking face once again. It was a little embarrassing when there was a round of applause as they wheeled him back in. Sadie hadn’t realized that people had begun to filter in.
     
    She snuck out of the room and went to see if the chief was back from his chase yet. He wasn’t in any of the places she expected he would be, so she settled herself back on the bench out on the porch. That way she’d be right in the line of fire when he got back.
     
    It wasn’t long before he came jogging down the block and dropped onto the bench next to her.
     
    “Didn’t catch him?” she asked.
     
    He shook his head no. He was still breathing hard from his run.
     
    “That doesn’t really matter though, does it,” she said. “We know where to find him.”
     
    “We do?” the chief asked.
     
    “Sure. Lance Brownside,” she said. “I can’t imagine anyone else having the nerve to paint a dead man’s face. Can you?”
     
    “Not really,” he said. “Good catch.”
     
    “I always try to do my best,” she said and turned to smile at him. “We can catch up with him any time we want.”
     
    Sadie parked outside the Seagrove funeral home while the chief went to get a search warrant for the mortuary. Strictly speaking, the chief had told her to go home. He’d radioed for a squad car to keep an eye on the building and to call him if Lance showed his face. But there wasn’t a squad car in sight, and Sadie felt that justified her decision to stop there on her way home.
     
    At least that was what she was going to tell the chief when he yelled at her for putting herself in danger. And she knew he would. It was inevitable.
     
    There was movement at the front of the funeral home. The door opened, a figure slipped out and it closed. She’d seen a brief glimpse of muted light that didn’t reach the windows. She wondered if the layout was similar to the Hyattsville place, but then Lance was on the move and she had a decision to make.
     
    Follow? Or call the chief and go home like a good citizen? She didn’t fancy herself in the role of a goody-goody. She was just about to get out and follow on foot when he slipped into a car a few houses down. She turned on the engine but left the lights off.
     
    She drove without headlights until he turned onto Main Street, then she flicked hers on before she turned. She was feeling pretty pleased with herself until she realized she couldn’t tell if his car was ahead of her. There wasn’t much traffic on the street, there never was, but there were three cars headed up the street in front of her, and she had no idea which one was his. This was fine unless someone decided to turn off Main. Then she’d have to make a decision.
     
    One of the two lights in town turned red ahead of her. She groaned at the inconvenience of it all and came to a stop. One car went through the intersection, and she was contemplating running the light when her passenger door opened and Lance Brownside got in the car.
     
    “Do you want to tell me what you are doing following me?” he asked, flashing her a glimpse of a gun under his hoody. She stifled her instinct to make a smart remark.
     
    “What makes you think I’m following you?” she asked.
     
    “Because you were parked outside the funeral home, and unless you recently moved, you are driving the wrong way.” He touched the gun to remind her it was there.
     
    She was outraged. He was threatening her?
     
    “Have you lost your mind?” she asked. “Flashing a gun at me? You do know I’m dating the chief of police?”
     
    “But wouldn’t that be poetic? The chief’s girlfriend killed while trailing a suspected criminal. Serves you right for snooping around.”
     
    “I